Console Corner: Sniper Elite 4 review

Attempts to tell more than just a typical WW2 story are made by scanning your enemies with your binoculars and through collectibles, but does it add to the experience?

Published:06:00Saturday 04 March 2017

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Back in the trenches.

There are plenty of stealth games out there, most of which will reward you for keeping your weapon holstered.

Games like Dishonored 2 will praise your restraint despite your enticing abilities, and punish you with annoying nests of bloodflies if you give in.

Not so with Sniper Elite, a series that so revels in slaughter in all manner of horrific ways that it has become known for the anatomical precision of its brutal Kill Cam.

The fourth entry to the series is no different as we pack our long-range weaponry to the scenic Italian coasts of 1943, back in the war-ravaged boots of dullard everyman Karl Fairburne.

Each location Rebellion Developments has created is dizzyingly vast, with enough variety to keep things interesting.

Whatever situation you’re faced with, preparation and patience is vital as you make the most of your environment to defeat the Axis powers.

Planes flying overhead and artillery gunfire can mask your activities, whereas at night you might prefer a silent approach, sticking to the shadows. Every level change forces you to think and strategise differently.

Of course, the Kill Cam is as gorily compulsive as ever. XP tumbles across the screen to congratulate you for the creativity of your sharpshooting.

Attempts to tell more than just a typical WW2 story are made by scanning your enemies with your binoculars and through collectibles fall flat, however.

Searching enemy corpses will uncover many letters to loved ones. Yet, any emotional reaction is undermined when you pop their mates in the Nazi knackers straight after. Battlefield 1 this ain’t.

War might be hell, but perhaps Sniper Elite 4 might help other stealth games to rediscover what it’s like to have some good - not so clean - fun.